


Reunion

by Kujo1597



Series: Off the Train [4]
Category: Infinity Train (Cartoon)
Genre: Goodbye "stop 'n go lights" I loved you, I guess that does explain her mom's accent, I made more somewhat serious edits on March 25th, I uh found out that Tulip's from Minnesota so I made a couple edits, Multi, Nonbinary Lake, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-02-22 16:28:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22718893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kujo1597/pseuds/Kujo1597
Summary: After reconnecting online with Tulip, Lake and Jesse made plans to visit her in Minnesota. In a small town like Tulip's not much has changed, but the familiarity was generally nice. And catching up was bound to be fun. Especially now that Lake has figured themself out.
Relationships: Lake & Jesse Cosay, Tulip Olsen/Mikayla (Infinity Train), Tulip Olsen/Mikayla(Infinity Train)
Series: Off the Train [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1758598
Comments: 21
Kudos: 142





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My first Infinity Train fanfic, Reconnecting is part of this one's canon. But you don't need to read that one first. All you need to know is that Tulip knows pretty much everything Lake did on the train. And she's also chatted with Jesse online.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As of 03/25/20 I made some edits to this chapter, mainly adding more to a conversation with Tulip. So if you're doing a re-read and notice things aren't quite how you remember, that is why.

Jesse was the first one out of the car, he stretched his back after the long ride from Arizona to Minnesota. This was his first real road trip.

The car tipped to one side as the veteran road tripper got out of it.

“That brought back some memories,” Lake said as they stretched out their shoulders with a smile. “But this was the first time I’ve seen anything like the Grand Canyon in person. The Midwest is a whole lot of farms, and nothing.”

“Yeah it was awesome,” Jesse said. “I knew it was deep, but wow.”

Lake put their hands behind their head, “nature’s really amazing.”

Nate jumped out of the car and jogged in place. “My legs are asleep.”

As the kids talked Whittney, and Stephan started to unload luggage from the trunk. After some more stretches everybody helped load things into the Air BnB. It was a somewhat small place, with two bedrooms. Overall it was fairly tidy, the living room had a somewhat small TV but the plan wasn’t to stay in the building too much, it was mainly a place to sleep, change, and sometimes eat.

All the luggage was dropped off into the bedrooms then the question came, where would Lake sleep? 

“I can sleep anywhere,” Lake said. “We already know that I’m too heavy for your average bed. But most couches seem to be fine. I can just sleep there. If not, I could sleep on Jesse’s floor.”

“I’d feel bad if you did that,” Jesse said. “You shouldn’t be the only one on the floor.”

“I know, that’s why you slept next to me in the hotel,” Lake said with a slight smile. “Which is really nice of you. But we’re going to be here for three days. Enjoy your bed.”

Stephan gave things some thought. “I’d be okay with you sleeping on the couch if you are. You won’t have any privacy there.”

Lake put their hands on their hips. “That’s fine, I don’t need it. You’ll all be sleeping anyway. And it’s not like I never fall asleep on the couch at home either. I’ll just change in Jesse and Nate’s room before and after bed.”

“That works for me,” Jesse said.

“Well okay then, I guess that’s our plan,” Stephan agreed.

“I should probably text Tulip and tell her we’re here,” Lake said as they pulled out their phone.

“And let’s start figuring out when we’ll meet up,” Jesse said as he walked over to Lake.

“It’s already pretty late,” Whittney said, “so you shouldn’t meet up tonight.”

“Alright,” Lake and Jesse responded in unison.

Lake got a reply and read it out to Jesse, “Tulip says we can meet up for lunch and hang out all day if we want. That work for you?”

“As long as you two do the thing,” Jesse replied.

“Yeah we’ll do the thing.”

“Yes! The thing!”

“The thing?” Whittney asked.

“We’ll show you when we get back,” Jesse replied with a laugh. “So Lake, uh, do you know your way around here?”

“Nope,” they replied. “I only know bits and pieces. I can probably get around downtown but that’s about it. Oh yeah… where _should_ we eat?”

“You’re the local.”

“That’s true… But it’s been over a year since I ‘lived’ here. I’ll just ask Tulip. You’re not picky.” A minute passed before Lake got a reply. “She says we can just meet up downtown and figure things out from there.”

The three further sussed out their plans, and then it came time to get ready for bed. Lake quickly changed in the boys’ room and settled on the couch Whittney brought out some blankets for them.

“I know you don’t really feel the cold, but you should at least be comfy,” she said. “Are you sure you’re okay with sleeping out here?”

Lake smiled softly “Thanks, and yeah, I’m sure.”

“Are you excited to see Tulip tomorrow?”

“I am, but I’m also weirdly nervous. We’ve talked a lot online and we’re all caught up. Mostly.”

“Mostly?”

“I left out a lot of details about the flecs. Such as, what exactly happened to them. I’m sure Tulip would be cool with murder in self-defence. But you know. That’s something you tell somebody in-person. If at all.”

“So you might partially be nervous because you haven’t told Tulip everything.”

“Wait, are there cameras in this place?” Lake started to look around.

“Don’t worry, they have to disclose any cameras,” Whittney said as she put her hand on Lake’s shoulder. “Cameras are creepy so we made sure to pick a place without them.”

“And I’m probably a bit too casual about all that mess for you to risk it,” Lake added with humour.

Whittney laughed. “That too.” She pulled Lake into a hug. “And you’ll do fine tomorrow. It’s normal to be nervous about meeting up with an old friend. Or…whatever you consider Tulip. Either way. I’d feel the same.”

Lake softly placed their hand on Whittney’s arm. “Thanks.”

“Any time,” Whittney gave Lake a kiss on the head. “Now, it’s time to sleep. You have a big day ahead of you. Goodnight, I love you.”

“Love you too, night.”

After Whittney left the room Lake curled up under their blankets trying not to think too hard about meeting up with Tulip. Although trying not to think about something often led to thinking about not thinking. Which was frustrating.

After about an hour Lake fell asleep in their usual undignified position.

* * *

Jesse and Lake waved goodbye to Stephan after they got to the coffee shop they’re meeting Tulip at before he drove off with the rest of the family. Lake texted that they arrived.

“Tulip says she’s at the corner,” Lake relayed the information to Jesse.

“You know, now that I think about it, this will be my first time seeing Tulip in person. I’m excited.”

“I’m glad. I’m excited too, I guess. Kind of nervous too.”

“I remember, that was the most thought I’ve ever seen you put into an outfit.”

Lake fiddled with the necklace they made out a chain, and brass padlock. “Yeah, I just wanted to make a good first impression. …So to speak. We’ve already talked online, and met, technically. Though at the time I didn’t really have a good idea of who I was.”

Jesse put his hand on Lake’s shoulder. “And now you do. And soon Tulip will see just how awesome you are!”

“And Tulip will get to know my favourite theatre kid,” Lake said as they wrapped their arm around Jesse’s waist, he smiled at them.

It only took a minute for Tulip to show up and the first thing her and Lake did was stand with their feet far apart, pointing at each other with mad expressions. Jesse laughed as he took a couple pictures. 

After Jesse got his kicks Tulip and Lake hugged.

“It’s so good to see you!” Tulip said during the hug. 

“It’s good to see you too,” Lake said before backing up to look at Tulip. “You got a haircut, it looks nice.”

Tulip blushed. “Thanks, cool jacket, and I like your earrings.”

Lake’s cheeks darkened. “Thanks, it used to belong to Jesse’s dad, and they’re bolts.” Lake pointed at their necklace. “I honestly get a lot of my accessories at the hardware store.”

“Tuliiip,” Jesse said dramatically as he hugged her. “I finally met you!”

“Yep, we’re meeting,” Tulip returned Jesse’s hug, seeming a bit surprised. “Nice to meet you.”

“He’s a hugger,” Lake said, amusement colouring their voice.

“I have a lot of love to give,” Jesse said in mock-offense before letting Tulip go. “There’s so many things I want to talk about! Lake told me a lot about you but I want to hear from you. Like, what was your number when you got on? How long were you there? What are your hobbies? Favourite foods-”

“-Okay Jesse, one at a time,” Lake interrupted him. “And maybe check with Tulip if she wants to answer your questions.”

“Right, right,” Jesse ran his hand through his hair with a blush. “I just never saw another former passenger in person before.

“So to answer your questions,” Tulip took a breath before continuing. “It was 115, about five months, I like coding and most sciences, my favourite food is onions but I also like ice cream, but who doesn’t? I guess I’ll ask you the same questions.”

“My number was 31, almost three weeks, I’m a swimmer and I like playing different sports with my friends, hiking, swimming, obviously, I joined the drama club this year, I guess I just have a lot of hobbies. My favourite food is the nachos at Gas ‘n Dog, me and my little brother, Nate like splitting those. And back to something you said, you were gone for _five months?_ That’s crazy.”

The group walked as they talked. “Yeah, my parents were really scared I was gone for so long. They didn’t let me go anywhere alone for _months_. Which is fair.”

“My parents kept a close eye on me for about a month, the fact that I had Lake with me probably helped,” Jesse shrugged. “You can’t exactly deny that the train’s real when you’re looking at a metal person.”

Tulip laughed. “Yeah, and when your daughter comes home without a reflection you either believe her about a weird therapy train, or think she became a vampire. I think my parents were the former, and Mikayla was the latter.”

“Oh yeah, how is Mikayla?” Lake asked.

“Good,” Tulip’s cheeks turned slightly red, “we actually started dating last month.”

Lake’s face lit up. “You finally told her! Aw Tulip, I’m so proud of you.”

“What do you mean ‘finally told her?’”

“You had a crush on Mikayla for **_forever._** I was wondering when you’d get together.”

“And if she didn’t have one on me?”

“Tulip. Mikayla constantly says how your games are the only ones she likes.”

“That’s true,” Tulip’s cheeks turned even redder. 

“Who’s Mikayla?” Jesse asked, feeling rather lost.

“We’ve been friends since kindergarten,” Tulip replied.

“Oh wow, that’s awesome,” Jesse said with a grin. “Congrats.”

“Thanks,” Tulip said.

A restaurant caught Jesse’s eye. “Oh, nice. Wanna head in here?”

Tulip and Lake took a look at the sign and agreed with Jesse’s choice. The group went in and took their seats. Lake opened their menu then put on a pair of glasses.

Their eyes met Tulip’s. “What with the smug look?”

“So you _do_ need glasses,” Tulip said. 

“Only for reading,” Lake grumbled with a blush. 

Jesse did his best to suppress a snicker. 

Lake read their menu some more. “This sounds good but it has onion in it…”

“What are you looking at?” Jesse asked, Lake pointed to the item and Jesse read the ingredients. “You like green onion.”

“I do?”

“Yeah! We eat it all the time. But I think I’ve been calling it chives because of your whole onion thing. You don’t like white onions at all, and you don’t _mind_ red onions if they’re cooked enough.”

“You really pay attention to this stuff.”

“Well you are my best friend.”

Lake and Jesse leaned against each other while Tulip had been watching the whole exchange with a smile.

After everybody’s orders were taken Tulip struck up conversation with Lake. 

“I never did ask about your hobbies and favourite foods.”

“Hobbies? I feel like you already know that one, my mom thought a _con_ structive hobby would help me with my _de_ structive tendencies so she got me to try out art. And I enjoy it. I like climbing trees, and hiking with Jesse. That’s about it. And I don’t really have a favourite food yet, maybe pizza?”

“Have you joined any clubs?” Tulip asked.

“I tried,” Lake replied with a sigh. “I was in a science club but the one guy kept grilling me. He googled my name, found nothing, and decided that I’ve been to juvie. And he just wouldn’t drop it so I left.”

Tulip frowned. “That’s too bad. It would’ve been fun to go up against you at the odyssey.”

“Yeah, maybe next year,” Lake didn’t exactly sound hopeful. 

They waitress came with everybody's food during one of the group's conversations. 

While Lake was talking Tulip became more and more curious about one thing. She decided to just go ahead and ask.

"Hey so, I've been wondering about this for a while. How did you get that scar on your eyebrow?"

"Scar?" Lake asked, then they realized what Tulip was talking about and blushed. "It's really embarrassing."

"No it's not," Jesse said. 

"That's funny coming from you," Lake said the next part in a Jesse-impression. "Oh. I was expecting something cooler."

"Okay okay, you're right, that was rude," Jesse conceded. "I was still riding on our post-train escape high and said something dumb. But think about it, not everyone would be brave enough to do what you did."

"So what did they do?" Tulip asked.

Lake sighed, giving in to peer-pressure. "When I first shaved my head, so to speak, I used the wheel of the train and slipped. I nicked my eyebrow and some of it isn't growing back. I like how it looks so whatever, but I don't like talking about how it happened. It's so embarrassing."

"That's not completely embarrassing," Tulip said as she tossed a fry into her mouth. "But why a wheel?"

"Because there were no grinders in the blacksmith car," Lake replied matter-of-factly. 

"Make sense, I guess," Tulip didn't sound completely sure; she was honestly thinking it was a bit dumb to risk your life for a haircut.

"So what are you guys up to in school?" Tulip asked.

The rest of the time spent in the restaurant was spent talking about various school subjects with the occasional vent about teachers and assignments. After they were done eating the group split their bill three-ways and left.

The afternoon was spent window-shopping and talking. There wasn’t much to do in Tulip’s town in all honesty. Which was about as Lake remembered, Jesse seemed mildly disappointed however. But he did enjoy learning more about Tulip, and also learned that Lake was not kidding about how she eats raw onions.

Once it started to get around dinner time Tulip texted her dad for a ride back to his house.

“Oh yeah!” Tulip exclaimed. “The carnival opens tomorrow. I’m going with Mikayla, do you wanna come with?”

“Heck yeah!” Jesse replied raising his fists in the air. 

“That sounds great,” Lake replied in their own enthusiastic way. “I can’t wait to go to a real carnival!”

“Oh yeah, there was a carnival car on the train,” Tulip said.

“Yeah, but it was rigged against me,” Lake said with their arms crossed and a pout. 

“Don’t worry, carnival games here are rigged against everybody equally,” Tulip said with her hand to her chest.

The group laughed then talked more about their plans for the next day.

Then a somewhat old car arrived and Andy rolled down the window.

“Hey bud, have fun?” he asked.

“Yep!” Tulip replied cheerfully, she gestured at her friends. “This is Lake and Jesse.”

An uncomfortable amount of time passed as Andy took in Lake’s all too familiar features. His eyes scanned them multiple times as he cataloged all the similarities to his daughter, and the subtle differences. Although both Lake and Tulip had their share of experiences on the train Lake somehow looked slightly older, as if there was this constant stress below the surface. For a moment Andy found himself wondering how Lake got the nick in their eyebrow.

“Didn’t I tell you who I was with?” Tulip’s question snapped Andy out of it.

“Yeah but, seeing them is different than…” Andy got lost in Lake’s face again.

“Hearing about them,” Lake finished Andy’s thought and shuffled their feet, not knowing what to say. They too were at a loss. All those years of reflecting Andy’s daughter… Hugging his reflection as if the two of them were father and child.

But they weren’t, it was all acting. Once the real family stepped away from the mirror it was back to isolation.

More silenced stretched between the two.

“Hi Mr. Olsen, I’m Jesse,” he clumsily tried to diffuse the situation. 

“Nice to meet you,” Andy said, accepting Jesse’s handshake.

“I’m Lake,” they introduced themself, still unsure of their relationship with Andy.

“Yeah, nice to meet you,” the second part trailed off as a question. Andy cleared his throat. “So, do you kids need a ride to your hotel?”

“Air BnB,” Jesse gently corrected Andy. “And sure, if you don’t mind. Where were we staying again?” Jesse directed the question to Lake.

Lake gave the address to Andy who smiled, it wasn’t as warm as Lake remembered it being directed at Tulip. Understandably, as far as Lake was concerned. He was staring at what to him is a metal version of his daughter. 

“Perfect, that’s on the way,” Andy said. “Hop in!”

Tulip entered on the passenger side, and Lake crawled to the hump seat, as the car tipped with their weight Andy made a face like he was deeply concerned about the vehicle’s suspension. Then Jesse got in.

“Thanks for giving us a ride!” He said, hoping that Lake and Andy would find the words for each other.

They didn’t during the whole car ride.

“Bye! See you tomorrow!” Tulip shouted through the open window at Lake and Jesse. 

“Yeah you bet!” Jesse waved at Tulip and then Andy. “Bye Mr. Olsen!”

“Bye,” Lake also waved, but with far less energy.

“Bye kids,” Andy waved back before driving off.

As soon as the car left Lake sighed heavily. 

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Jesse asked. 

“What’s there to talk about?”

“Lake,” for a moment Jesse worried that he sounded too pushy and harsh. 

“Alright,” Lake rubbed the back of their neck. “I don’t know how to feel about Andy. In some weird way he is my dad since I wouldn’t exist as I am if Tulip didn’t. But he’s also not my dad because well, genetics. Reflections don’t have parents. We’re all actors at the end of the day. We act out a happy family but we don’t have one.”

“ _You_ have one,” Jesse said, he knew it wouldn’t help with the Andy situation, but he wanted Lake to feel better.

Lake wiped their eyes. “You’re right. I do have a family now. Your parents practically adopted me.”

Jesse hugged Lake, placing his chin on their head. Neither of them were really sure when exactly it happened, but Jesse had grown in the last several months. Lake wrapped their arms around him and let out their breath.

Things with Andy were still confusing, but Jesse was right.

Things have changed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goodness me. This is a long one. About 5700 words.
> 
> As of 03/25/20 I made some slight edits to this chapter. So if you're doing a re-read and notice things aren't quite how you remember, that is why.

Jesse practically did a front-flip out of the car after arriving at the carnival. He looked forward to the county fair every year and Lake finally got to experience the fun of spinning very very fast on things and pigging out on deep fried foods.

Lake stepped out grinning at the pure excitement and joy radiating from Jesse. And their grin only grew once Nate joined in.

Then Jesse gave Nate a huge hug. “I’m so sorry we won’t be hanging out today! It won’t be the same without you, I swear. We’ll go to the fair back home too.”

“We better!” Nate matched Jesse’s maybe not entirely fake sorrow.

“Are you sure you don’t want to get your jacket out of the car?” Stephan asked Jesse, breaking up the ‘tearful’ moment. 

“Yep I’m sure, it’s a nice sunny day out I won’t need it,” Jesse replied. 

“When he gets cold I’ll just borrow him my flannel,” Lake added with a shrug.

“When?” Jesse asked.

“You’re from Arizona you’re going to get cold,” after this exchange Lake noticed Nate pouting then patted him on the head. “Aaw bud, sorry we couldn’t hang out today either. At least tomorrow we have that family picnic.”

“Yeah!” Nate’s face lit up. “And you’re coming to the fair back home too, right?”

“Of course,” Lake replied. 

The family walked to the entrance of the carnival, Stephan, Whittney, and Nate walked in.

“Carnival!” Jesse started to sing and dance. “I go every year and Lake finally gets to experience it~”

Jesse gestured at Lake to get them to sing too. But they didn’t.

“You know one day I _will_ get you to sing,” Jesse said, his voice full of determination. 

“I would if your songs ever had any rhythm,” Lake said. 

“Oh really,” Jesse smirked and wrapped his arm around Lake’s shoulders. “Maybe I should join the glee club.”

“You’re in half the clubs at school already,” Lake said with a laugh. “When will you find the time?”

“I’m a good juggler,” Jesse said with a shrug. “But in the meantime...”

Jesse went back to doing a silly song and dance. Eventually Lake caved and tried their best to join in on the dancing. They probably didn’t do a great job, but it was fun.

The two lost track of time and had no idea how long it took for Tulip and Mikayla to show up. And judging by the mystified look on both their faces, they might have been there for a bit.

“Oh! Hi Mikayla,” Lake straightened out with a blush spreading across their entire face. “It’s good to see you. Well, maybe ‘meet you’ would be more appropriate. Um.”

“Wow, you really are chrome...” Mikayla tried not to stare for too long.

Lake sighed, it had been a while since somebody had that reaction. Andy’s the previous day seemed less ‘wow a metal person’ and more ‘they look uncannily like my daughter.’

“Oh, sorry,” Mikayla tore her eyes away from Lake. “It’s good to meet you.”

“Hey I’m Jesse,” he walked up to Mikayla with a smile, about to stretch his arms out for a hug.

Which Mikayla accepted. “Aw Tulip told me about you.”

“Told or warned?” Lake said with a smirk.

“A little of both,” Mikayla winked as she replied.

Jesse did a fake gasp. “Wha- Tulip. How could you?”

Tulip shrugged. “You’re like a human puppy. It’s kind of a lot”

“You know what, I’ll take that as a compliment. Who doesn’t like puppies?” Jesse said. He then rubbed his hands together. “So! We ready to head in?”

The other three cheered, then Jesse ran up to Lake and held their hand while Tulip and Mikayla also held hands. Jesse pointed at all the different rides talking about all of them to Lake.

“And this one! Me and Nate went on the same one, and we spun the teacup so fast he almost puked,” Jesse laughed at the memory. “Mom got so mad at me, and I had to promise not to do that again.”

“Was Nate okay?” Lake asked. 

“Considering he wanted to do it again, I’d say he was,” Jesse replied.

“As long as he was okay,” Lake’s expression softened before they took a look around. “There’s a lot of people here.”

“Is there?” Jesse asked after taking a look for himself. “I guess yeah, compared to what you’re used to. The county fair I go to is a lot bigger.”

“Well you are from the city,” Tulip said with a shrug. “This is actually one of the bigger years for us.”

“So more waiting in line,” Mikayla added. “Oh well. We’ll still have fun.”

Jesse noticed Lake looking unsure. “This works out though, a good first real fair.”

“Real fair?” Mikayla asked. 

“Yeah, there was one on the train, but there were barely any people,” Jesse replied. “And me and Lake didn’t have any time to go on any rides.”

“Wait...” Lake’s brow furrowed in thought. “Am I going to be too heavy for the rides?”

Jesse stopped walking as he was thinking very hard. “I don’t know... Probably not. Couches can handle you.”

“But beds can’t,” Lake pointed out. 

“You seriously can’t be that heavy,” Mikayla said.

“I weight around 369lbs,” Lake replied, and quietly high-fived Jesse when he said “nice.”

“Three-hun-what,” Mikayla stumbled on her words.

“Lake _is_ completely metal,” Tulip reasoned. 

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Jesse shrugged. “So how about we make the teacups your first ride?”

With that, it was decided, the group stood in line for a bit, and then loaded up into their teacup. Jesse quickly explained how the ride worked and Lake put their hands on the circle in the middle with a glint in their eye. And Tulip did the same.

“Uh-oh... I know that look,” Mikayla said.

Jesse exchanged a glance with her. “I do too.”

Then the chuckling started, instilling some fear into Jesse and Mikayla. Jesse knew about Lake’s ‘mirror strength’ which totally does exist no matter how much Lake insists it doesn’t. And he knew how Tulip pulled Lake from the mirror world. 

This was either going to be amazing, or the worst thing ever.

The buzzer signalling the start of the ride went off and Tulip and Lake started turning the centerpiece as quick as they can, laughing the whole time. Mikayla screamed and Jesse did a combination of that and laugh. 

The ride slowed down, and the chaotic duo was the first ones off. Both a bit wobbly but otherwise fine enough to give each other ten. 

“Let’s do that again!” Lake cheered.

“Nope,” Mikayla’s response was instant as she stumbled off the ride. “Only way you’re getting me back on that thing is by letting me and Jesse spin it.”

“Are you okay?” Tulip asked Mikayla. “Do you need some water?”

“I’ll be fine, thanks,” Mikayla replied. 

“How ‘bout you?” Lake asked Jesse when he stumbled off the ride.

“I’m good,” Jesse replied. “But yeah... maybe we should wait on riding this again. How are you two so okay?”

All Jesse got was a shrug. 

Figuring they were already taking too long everybody got out of the area for the teacups. 

They went on a variety of rides, none of which required participation from the riders, Lake and Tulip were on time-out from controlling the rides. Eventually they spotted The Octopus and stood in that line.

When they got to the front the group started to load into their cars like usual, Tulip and Mikayla in one, Jesse and Lake in another. 

Or at least that was the plan.

“Sorry miss,” the ride operator stopped Lake from getting on after Jesse when he heard the ride creak. “Don’t ask me how, but you hit the weight limit of that car.”

“Nooo Laaaake,” Jesse cried dramatically as he reach out towards them.

“There’s two kids next in line, you ride with them,” the ride operator ignored Jesse.

“Are they...tall enough to ride?” Lake asked after seeing the twins, one boy, and one girl.

“Look who’s talking,” a teenager sneered as he rudely pushed past Lake to get to the car behind them.

“Yeah, as long as they’re with an adult, and you’re close enough,” the ride operator answered Lake’s earlier question.

The mother was led into the car next to Jesse. He greeted her with a smile like he tended to. Though the mother seemed not entirely comfortable with her kids being with somebody else.

The boy was having a hard time getting onto the ride so Lake decided to lift him up onto it.

“Try not to yeet a child,” Jesse called out from his car.

“You know, if I didn’t have two little kids right next to me I’d make a certain gesture at you!” Lake yelled back, before helping the girl onto the ride. Then they got on which caused the arm to dip slightly.

Jesse laughed then noticed the mother looking extremely nervous so he talked to her, “I joke around a lot. But don’t worry, they’re in good hands. My friend is really nice.”

In Lake’s car the twins were staring at them.

“You’re so shiny,” the boy said.

“Wow you are, why?” the girl asked.

“I’m metal,” Lake replied, hoping that would be enough.

“Wow cool!” The twins exclaimed.

They then started to talk to Lake about random things as small children do. Then the car moved up a bit higher and they looked scared.

“It’s okay,” Lake assured them then put their hand on their chest. “I’ll keep you safe.”

This seemed to work pretty well, even as the ride finally started the twins didn’t seem scared. Although Lake sort of was, they absolutely did not want to accidentally crush either kid because of the physics at play.

When the ride stopped Jesse’s car ended up going a bit farther than Lake expected. So it was going to end up being one of the last ones unloaded. Lake helped both children off and stood to the side with them. The kids decided to hold hands with Lake while waiting for their mom. 

The last set of cars eventually unloaded and surprisingly, Mikayla was the first person to join Lake.

“Well look who it is,” she said while smiling at the twins.

“Mikaya!” they both cheered while running up to her.

“You know them?” Lake asked.

“Yeah, I babysit them,” Mikayla replied. “Did you two cause Lake any trouble?”

Mikayla got a head shake in reply. 

“Good job,” Mikayla smiled. 

Everybody else came up to Lake and Mikayla. The kids excitedly ran up to their mother and started talking to her about the ride. 

“Thank for riding with them,” she said. 

Lake blushed. “Oh, yeah you’re welcome.”

Jesse ran up with his arms outstretched “I missed you!”

“It wasn’t even that long,” Lake didn’t accept Jesse’s hug and instead flicked him on the forehead. “And that’s for the yeet comment. I don’t hate kids, Apex ones don’t count.”

“You’re totally right,” Jesse rubbed his forehead. I might’ve crossed a line, sorry.”

Lake sighed then gave Jesse a sideways hug. “It’s fine, you were just ribbing me. You say a lot of dumb things, but you always mean well.” 

“Oh hey, it’s you guys,” Tulip greeted the kids and their mother but they left not long afterwards, the kids were too excited to stand around any longer.

“How do you know them?” Jesse asked.

"Mikayla’s invited me over a few times,” Tulip replied.

“Don’t parents usually have a rule against that?” Jesse pondered out loud.

“She said no boyfriends,” Mikayla replied.

“And I’m a girlfriend,” Tulip said with a sly look.

Lake grinned. “Ha! Yeah! Exploit that loophole!”

They all shuffled off while sharing a laugh.

After going on one more ride the group decided to get something to eat. 

“Oh my gosh Lake, you have many foods to try, there’s corn dogs, funnel cakes, shaved ice, deep fried pickles,” Jesse listed off way more carnival foods than any one person should know. He gasped and stopped Lake. “Deep fried Twinkies...”

Tulip made a face.

“I have no idea what Twinkies are,” Lake said.

Jesse’s jaw dropped. “What? Have we really not bought Twinkies in that long? But Tulip, you must’ve had them in your house, right?”

“Mmm, nah, my mom’s a nurse and we don’t buy too much unhealthy stuff,” Tulip replied. “I’m allowed to eat it of course, but we’ve never really had Twinkies lying around.”

“So what are Twinkies?” Lake asked. 

“Light fluffy sponge cake with vanilla cream in the middle” “A bunch of fake stuff pretending to be cake with a cream filling.”

“Hmm. I mean, I’ll try the fried Twinkies, Jesse’s clearly excited about it,” Lake pointed at him as he pumped his fist. “And I won’t know what I like and don’t like if I’m not adventurous.”

So the two bought their Twinkies and Lake bit into theirs while returning to Tulip and Mikayla, much to the vendor’s fear and horror.

“Ow, ow, hot hot,” Jesse tried to pick his up. “So, what do you think?”

“It’s definitely not my favourite food,” Lake replied. “But also not the worst thing I’ve ever eaten.”

“I’m surprised an athlete like you enjoys so many unhealthy foods,” Mikayla said as she watched Jesse try to pick up his food again.

“If I decide to go pro with swimming as an adult then I’ll have to be more careful,” Jesse said before successfully biting into his Twinkie, he finished his thought while burning his mouth. “But I’m still young and can't resist the sweet delicious taste of fried food.”

“And chocolate, and cake, and ice cream, and different batters, pretty much anything sweet, and that’s not even getting into the potato chips,” Lake listed off Jesse’s favourite snacks. They hadn’t touched their Twinkie in a while. “Do any of you want this?”

“Not a do again, huh?” Jesse asked.

“Nope.”

“You know what,” Tulip took the food from Lake, “I’ll give it a try.” she slightly regretted not waiting longer before biting into it, “it’s not half-bad. You want some?”

Mikayla turned down Tulip’s offer.

Because it was already half-eaten Tulip didn’t take long to finish the Twinkie. Then the group picked up some corn dogs, many other foods Lake had never eaten. 

And they really enjoyed it! Plus the advantage of being metal is that it’s hard to stay sticky.

It’s always a poor idea to go spinning right after lunch so the group walked around. Mikayla spotted an old favourite, the Hall of Mirrors. 

“I’m going to have to sit this out,” Lake said. “While buying things to decorate my room with we walked down an aisle with a ton of reflective surfaces. And as it turns out, when I’m walking around in the prime world and also have to reflect in a bunch of stuff at the same time I get really disoriented. It was not a good time.”

Tulip gave things some thought. “I think I’ll stay with Lake. Most of the fun is trying to find your way through all your reflections. And I don’t really have one anymore. But you two can go. Me and Lake can wait out here and talk.” 

That worked for Jesse and Mikayla so they headed in. Jesse promised to not take long.

“So Tulip,” Lake started the conversation. “How’s your coding going?”

“Oh,” Tulip took a second to register the question. “I’m surprised you asked about that. I know you kinda hate it. It’s going well. I just finished my third game. I learned so much at game design camp!”

“That great! And you know,” Lake kicked the dirt. “I still don’t like coding much but over the last few months I figured out that it’s okay if I have some things in common with you. That’s been on my mind for a while now. Like, I almost didn’t join the science club because I was worried it would make me too much like you. But it’s normal for friends to have some common interests.”

Tulip sighed. “Too bad that guy ruined the club for you...”

“Nah, it’s fine. He graduates this year anyway. I can wait. I’m used to it. So tell me more about your latest game.”

“I decided to revamp my first game, and use everything I learned to make it way better,” Tulip’s face was positively glowing with pride. “There’s power-ups now, multiple bad guys, you can choose your ship, and there’s even some animations now. It took me months to get it done.”

“That sounds really fun actually,” Lake blushed. “Maybe someday you can let me try it.”

“I’d like that.”

“And maybe we can eventually collaborate. I don’t remember anything about coding, but as you know, I do enjoy character design, and I’ve played around with spritework before.”

“Yes!” Tulip wrapped her arm around Lake’s shoulders. “With the two of us working together we can make the best game ever!”

“Yeah!” Lake wrapped their arm around Tulip. “If we work together we can’t be beat!”

The two hashed out their plans while waiting for Jesse and Mikayla to return. 

“You two look like you’re having fun,” Jesse said cheerfully.

“We’re making a game together,” Lake and Tulip said in unison. 

“That’s awesome!” Jesse gave them a thumbs-up. 

Not wanting to stand around for too long everybody started walking around again.

“So I was thinking, how do reflections happen?” Mikayla asked. 

“Hm? We just get transported to whatever reflective surface we’re needed at,” Lake replied. “I don’t know how exactly that works.”

“That’s cool, but I was wondering how you’re made I guess. Like, are you born?”

“OH! So I don’t know how the first reflections came into being, that was long before I ever existed. But we aren’t born. What happens is that when a living thing is first reflected it’s given a refurbished reflection for the entirety of its existence.”

“I don’t like it when you call it that,” Jesse quietly said.

“I know you don’t, but it’s the best word for it,” Lake said. “A reflection’s memory gets wiped not unlike a computer or game system.”

“But those things aren’t people,” Jesse said under his breath. 

“I know but, sometimes you have to be clinical,” Lake patted Jesse on the shoulder. 

“So if you’re not born then, how do you not run out of reflections?” Tulip asked. The topic was on the table, and she had been wondering herself.

“More things die than are born each day. There’s just a bunch of reflections waiting for new primes. Even if some reflections decided to become flecs, and even if there were multiple rogue reflections like myself. There’s be more than enough left over,” Lake replied casually, to them, it was just a fact of life. 

But... that wasn’t really the case for the people they were with. The overall mood took a downswing. 

“Man, now I feel bad,” Lake rubbed the back of their head. “I guess it is kind of a downer, huh.”

“It’s fine,” Tulip tried to lighten things up.

“We asked,” Mikayla joined in on the attempt. “It’s interesting learning about this. And also kind of weird. Since I know that my reflection is alive in there.”

“I know right,” Jesse said. “I always make sure to wave at mine. I want them to be happy to see me.”

Lake giggled. “It’s honestly really cute. I’m sure they appreciate it.”

The mood was still a bit low and Jesse decided to try to fix it as best he could.

“Hey, you guys wanna hit our favourite rides again?”

Everybody agreed to that, and Lake and Tulip were even allowed to control rides again. As long as they were on their best behaviour. 

Which they were... for the most part.

* * *

“Brrr,” Jesse shivered, night had fallen.

“I told you you’d get cold,” Lake said while shrugging off their flannel. 

“I know,” Jesse accepted the offered garment. “Thanks Lake. You’re always prepared.”

“Yeah no problem, besides, I think that one might’ve been yours to begin with.”

“Was it? I’m pretty sure that one was blue. This red one’s from the thrift store.”

“Oh yeah, you’re right.”

Jesse’s pocket buzzed, or, at least he thought it was his pocket. But it was actually Lake’s, technically. Jesse passed Lake’s phone to them.

Lake unlocked it and read the texts from Whittney. “It says here that Nate’s about ready to fall asleep so we’ll be meeting at the entrance in an hour.”

“Wait, why is mom texting you?” Jesse asked.

“She probably assumed your phone would be dead from all your selfies,” Lake replied while setting an alarm, they handed their phone back to Jesse. 

“Good point,” he put the phone back into Lake’s coat pocket. “I think the battery is at like, 5% by now.”

“So what should we do then?” Tulip asked. “I don’t think we’ll have enough time for more rides.”

“That’s easy,” Jesse looked at Lake and they said together,

“Carnival games!”

Then they high-fived. 

“I guess we could, but they’re all rigged,” Mikayla said.

“Me and Jesse are basically experts at cheating carnival games,” Lake said while Jesse nodded and chuckled at the memories. “They cheat us? We’re gonna cheat them.”

The way Lake and Jesse were silently laughing about cheating at the games gave Tulip and Mikayla some pause.

“Maybe wait and see how badly they rig things before blowing it all up,” Tulip said.

“Okay,” Lake and Jesse said together. 

The first game the group played was darts. This one wasn’t rigged too terribly, the balloons were slightly deflated and the darts were dull, but it was still possible to win some small prizes. Everybody walked away with tiny little stuffed fish and smiles. They’re cheap, but cute.

The next game didn’t look rigged at first so Jesse decided to try, being an athlete and all. Basketball.

Jesse’s first couple tosses didn’t even come close to the basket. “Ah man,” he said, feeling dejected. Then he threw his last ball and at least hit the hoop. He let out a large unsatisfied sigh.

But, none of the prizes really jumped out at Jesse so he quickly got over it. Especially when he saw the prizes at the bottle toss.

“Lake,” he stopped them by the shoulder then pointed at the large shark. “We need to get that for Nate.”

“My gosh, we do,” Lake gawked at the tantalizing shark, it was almost as big as them. “Tulip, how’s this rigged?”

“I think they put sand at the bottom of the bottles,” Tulip replied. “So they’re almost impossible to knock over with the softballs.”

“So it sounds like a job for Lake,” Jesse joined the huddle. “They throw the hardest I’ve seen anyone.”

“You got it,” Lake said. “But you should see if you could do the first toss, just to feel things out.”

“Right,” Jesse put his hand in the middle, Lake and Tulip followed him. “So we have our plan. Let’s get Nate that shark!”

“Hey son,” the barker greeted Jesse as the group approached. “You gonna win something for your girlfriend?”

“Well... first, we’re not dating,” Jesse pulled out his wallet. “And second, _they’re_ going to win the prize for our brother. But if it’s alright, I will do the first toss.”

“Of course,” the barker took Jesse’s money and placed three softballs onto the counter. 

Jesse threw the first ball and it bounced off of the stack of milk bottles, they moved a little bit.

“So, quick question, let’s say hypothetically my sib managed to break a bottle or two, would that count as a win?” Jesse asked, trying to not sound like Lake was absolutely planning to break something.

The barker barked out a laugh. “I’d be damn impressed if she did, so yeah, that’d be a win.”

“And we wouldn’t have to say, pay for damages?” Jesse continued his frankly, terrible rouse. 

“No,” the barker replied, maybe feeling some concern upon looking at Lake’s face.

“Well, you heard the man,” Jesse said as he tossed a ball to Lake. “Have at ‘er.”

Lake didn’t even hesitate, they wound up and threw not quite as hard as they could, but close enough to bust open a couple bottles, causing the whole stack to collapse. 

“So that’s a win, right?” they asked, sounding smug.

Not wanting to argue with the small person who was suddenly looking very, very shiny and not just a very pale human the barker spoke after a gulp. “Yeah, that’s a win. Pick any prize you want.”

Lake pointed at the large blue shark and was given it with shaky hands. “You know, I still have one ball left.”

“Just, pick another prize, please don’t throw the ball,” the baker quickly said, his eyes darting to Jesse who just shrugged as if he was saying “my friend’s got a point.”

“Oh nice, I want that brown snake,” Lake pointed at the large toy and was quickly given it, Lake wrapped the snake around their torso, it easily coiled around them three times, and there was even enough slack to rest its chin on their head. “Thaaank you.”

The group walked away from the stall and swore they heard the barker in complete disbelief. Jesse and Lake were laughing amongst themselves while Mikayla looked just as shocked as the barker. 

“This snake reminds me of Alan Dracula,” Lake said. “He turned into one on the train and wrapped around my shoulders.”

“I can see it in the face,” Jesse said, the stuffed snake even had dark spots on the sides of its mouth. “But more importantly,” Jesse cleared his throat. “Doo doo doodoodoodoo doo baby shark doodoodoodoo doo.”

“Jesse don’t you dare get that stuck in my head again,” Lake said gently slapping him on the shoulder.

“Baby shark doodoodoodoo doo,” a different person joined in.

“Tulip not you too!”

Sure enough, by the time Tulip and Jesse were done, the song was thoroughly back in Lake’s head.

“I hate you guys,” they didn’t mean it, deep down at least. But they sure were feeling it at the moment. 

Feeling satisfied with their prizes Lake decided to not cheat any other games.

Not that they really needed to since they weren’t rigged overly horribly. The group managed to win a collection of small toys which were put in a grocery bag Tulip had in her backpack.

Tulip decided to quickly play a game at the basket toss. She had a history of winning that one, it was all about finesse and control, and knowing how exactly to land the ball in the basket. She paid to play, and got her three balls.

The first ball rolled on the side of the basket and fell out. 

The second stayed in the basket, and so did the third. Which one Tulip a small prize. Which wasn’t what she wanted. So Tulip paid for another three balls and got two more hits. Which was enough for a cute bear in a bowtie.

“I won this for you,” Tulip’s cheeks were tinted red as she passed it along to Mikayla.

“It’s so cute!” Mikayla hugged Tulip and kissed her on the cheek. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Tulip kissed Mikayla back.

Lake decided to give the game a try, their time was running low so they only got three tosses.

Which they promptly missed. Lake had watched Tulip’s technique but finesse was not their strong point. 

There was enough time for Mikayla to play another game of darts.

“Go! Go! Go!” The other three cheered for her.

“Stop you’re distracting me,” Mikayla said almost doubled over with laughter. 

Despite the laughter Mikayla did managed to get enough for a medium prize, a small green alien.

“Now I won you something,” Mikayla said as she gave the toy to Tulip. “It’s not crazy big as those two’s but it’s still cute.”

“Yeah, it’s great,” Tulip hugged Mikayla and also gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“You’re so cute,” Mikayla said with a fond smile. 

“No you’re cute,” Tulip said.

The alarm Lake set went off. “You’re both cute, we need to get going.”

“Am I cute?” Jesse asked, as the group walked off.

“Hmmm...” Lake mock-thought for a bit. “Yeah I guess you are.”

Everybody walked to the entrance as quickly as they could and when they arrived they saw the Cosay parents standing fairly close to Tulip’s mom. The kids split into two groups, Tulip and Mikayla happily greeted Megan and started talking about their day.

“Looks like you guys were successful,” Stephan said as soon as he noticed the piles of prizes, Nate was sleeping in his arms. 

“We’ve had a lot of practice,” Lake said, barely visible beneath their snake.

“Lake?” Megan asked trying to catch a glimpse of some metal.

“Oh hey,” Lake replied as if they weren’t obscured. “Nice to see you in person finally.”

“Oh yeah,” Jesse said, “you two had some video chats. Wait, where’s my head? I’m Jesse nice to meet you Miiss...”

“Megan,” she gave Jesse her name, which made thing much simpler. “Good to meet you.” She then laughed. “I had no idea I was standing next to your parents. Small world.”

“My goodness, how did you manage to win these things?” Whittney asked, she felt like she knew the answer. 

“Lake throws really hard, and kinda, broke a couple things,” Jesse replied bashfully. 

“I wouldn’t have gotten as far as I did without Jesse’s charisma,” Lake added. “I only threw one ball and won something, then the guy got scared and just gave me another prize to go away.”

Whittney shook her head with a fond look in her eyes. “What am I going to do with you?”

“Too bad Nate’s asleep, I extorted that shark for him,” Lake said, as Jesse held up the toy shark to show his parents.

“Aw don’t call it that, it makes me feel bad,” Jesse whined. “The game was rigged.”

“Lake _did_ win it through force,” Tulip pointed out.

“And you _were_ their accomplice,” Mikayla added. “You smooth-talked that carnival guy.”

Whittney smiled. “Sounds like extortion to me. Buuut I’m no snitch so I’ll just look the other way.”

Lake laughed “Thank god for that, otherwise the juvie thing wouldn’t just be an annoying rumour.”

“Waaaiiitt,” Mikayla’s jaw went slack. “Did you just say a thought out loud?”

“It’s mostly petty theft and property damage, don’t worry about it,” Lake said, realizing their potential mistake.

The “mostly” gave Mikayla some doubts, but upon looking at everybody who actually knew Lake, and all their non-reactions she decided to just drop it. Megan did the same.

“We should sort out our prizes before we forget,” Tulip opened up the grocery bag.

Lake pulled their phone out and turned on the light, they shined it into the bag. “Good thinking.”

While the kids were sorting the adults talked to each other about the upcoming family picnic.

“Wait, who won that one?” Jesse asked. 

“I did,” Lake replied. “But Tulip can keep it. I also left one for Mikayla.”

“Thanks,” Tulip and Mikayla said simultaneously. 

Tulip handed Lake and Jesse their own bag to put their prizes into. And all the rustling woke Nate up. Lake and Jesse heard him and excitedly ran over to him.

“Hey bud!” Lake was the first to talk. “I won something for you!”

“Is it a giant snake?” Nate asked. 

“Nope, you’re not quite as into snakes as you’re into...” Lake signaled to Jesse-

-who caught on immediately and held up the coveted toy with a grin. “Sharks!”

“Oh my gosh!” Nate’s eyes went wide as saucers. “That’s as big as I am! Thank you sooo much!”

Stephan laughed. “Well that woke you up.”

“I didn’t even think you could win prizes this big,” Nate said, still staring at his new toy.

“We cheated,” Lake and Jesse replied.

“You know, I’m starting to worry about the lessons you two are teaching Nate,” Stephan said.

“Ahhh… yeah,” Lake called Jesse in for a huddle.

Then Lake cleared their throat. “Okay Nate, the real lesson is that cheaters never prosper, unless it’s carnival games.” Jesse nodded along with Lake’s ‘sage advice.’

“And also,” Jesse prompted Lake to add the next, probably more important lesson.

“And also, don’t steal things, running from the police sucks majorly. Even when it’s not ones trying to kill you.”

“Don’t cheat stuff that isn’t games, and don’t steal, got it,” Nate gave them a thumbs-up.

“Close enough,” Stephan said with a fatherly chuckle. “Okay you two, say goodbye to your friends.”

Jesse walked up to Tulip and Mikayla with his arms outstretched, they smiled at him and gave him a hug. Lake quietly joined the group-hug.

“I had so much fun today!” he said.

Tulip laughed. “I did too. But we’re going to hang out tomorrow.”

“We are?” Lake asked.

“Yeah! Your parents talked to my mom about it and we’re joining in on the picnic,” Tulip replied.

Jesse cheered. “Mikayla, are you coming too?”

“Probably, but I need to check with my parents first,” she replied. 

“I hope you can make it,” Lake said. “It was great spending time with you.”

“Same to you,” Mikayla returned Lake’s sentiment.

They broke up their group hug and stood around talking some more.

Mikayla looked at Lake’s snake, its head still resting on theirs. “I’m impressed it’s staying like that.”

“I think there’s a magnet in the chin, or at least it’s tingly like one,” Lake said.

“How do you know magnets tingle?” Tulip asked.

“I got bored one day and stuck a bunch of fridge magnets onto Lake,” Jesse replied with a shrug.

“And I eventually joined him because why not,” Lake also shrugged. 

“Then Nate started doing it too.”

“Our family has a lot of magnets.”

“They’re mom’s favourite craft to get.”

“Oh, I need to keep that in mind.”

In standard Midwestern fashion the goodbye never really did happen, another conversation did instead. Eventually the kids were called over and they walked in opposite directions with their respective families. All while exchanging ‘see ya’s and ‘buh-bye’s. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the broken bottle thing is based off of real life. I was at The EX when I was a kid and did a ring toss onto some glass bottles. I threw a ring and actually broke the neck of the bottle. The guy running the game laughed and told me that he's gotta hand it to me, it's more impressive to break the bottle than land the ring. So I got a prize. 
> 
> I've had the mental image of Lake being coiled up by a toy snake since I decided they should all go to the fair. I actually doodled some pictures of them with their snake. I'll be uploading it to my Tumblr (same username) in the near future. I uh, slept on the couch for six hours and ended up not having time to colour the doodles. But I'm too excited to delay the chapter.
> 
> EDIT: Aayyyy, I coloured the picture! https://kujo1597.tumblr.com/post/611184554548527104/ive-had-this-mental-image-of-lake-wrapped-up-in-a


	3. Chapter 3

One of the first things a person sees when they enter Tulip’s house is a large mirror. And in this case it was reflecting two out of three people, Lake and Jesse, but not Tulip herself as she greeted her friends.

“Stop it,” Lake quietly scolded Jesse after Tulip walked away, he had been staring at her lack of a reflection. 

“Right, sorry,” Jesse smiled awkwardly. Then he noticed Lake’s attention trailing off as they looked around the house. “You okay?”

“Yeah… I’m fine, this place hasn’t really changed,” Lake replied, staring at all the old nick-knacks and some that for all Lake knew had always been there, they just couldn’t see from any of the reflective surfaces.

“Is this too much too fast?” Jesse asked.

“It’s a little too late to turn back now anyway, our family just drove off” Lake replied after a sigh. “I’m alright, just… adjusting.”

Jesse put his hand on Lake’s shoulder. “I’m sure they’d be okay with turning around to pick you up. So if you changed your mind, tell them.”

“Is everything okay?” Tulip had doubled-back after noticing the lack of followers.

“Yeah, of course,” Lake tried to act casual.

“Lake…” Jesse nudged them with his elbow.

“Okay fine, I’m just finding it weird being in your house,” Lake rubbed the back of their head. “Since I kind of know it, but don’t.”

“Oh, yeah that makes sense, would you like to look around?” Tulip offered.

“Yeah sure,” Lake quietly said before wandering off.

Tulip went to catch up with Lake but Jesse stopped her. “I think you should let Lake explore for a bit. My dad says they’re like a cat, just kinda quietly going wherever they want and sometimes stopping to watch you do things. Lake will come to your room when they’re ready.”

“I honestly kind of forgot Lake used to be my reflection,” Tulip said while debating following Jesse’s advice.

He laughed. “Yeah, me too.”

“I guess we’ll just head on to my room,” Tulip said, she walked up the stairs and Jesse followed her.

* * *

The first place Lake wandered into was the living room. This was the one they probably knew the best other than Tulip’s bedroom. Lake ran their hand along the arm of the couch, recalling all the evenings the family spent on it, and the shows they’d watch together.

Well, until Andy and Megan’s marriage became so strained. Lake also remembered them quietly arguing and hoping Tulip wouldn’t notice. 

But Lake noticed.

They took another look around at everything before moving on to other places and taking in the sights. Eventually Lake ended up in the kitchen.

“Oh geeze, Lake,” Megan practically jumped out of her skin when she looked up from her laptop. “I didn’t hear you come in here.”

“Hey,” Lake greeted her before staring at the toaster. 

“Is… everything alright with you?” Megan asked, finding the sight very odd.

“It’s weird being on this side of everything, looking into the toaster instead of out of it,” Lake continued to stare.

“Right,” Megan tried to get back to what she was reading but was too distracted by Lake just aimlessly walking around. She sighed. “Sit, talk.”

“We don’t need to talk about it,” Lake finally turned to Megan proper. 

“Tulip told me why the train picked her up. Not talking was part of it.”

“I don’t… think that would apply to me. Or would it? Actually yeah, if the train did come for me, how would that work? If it came for me, I’d be a passenger so I’d probably get a number. But I started as a denizen… so maybe I wouldn’t? But if I did get a number just how high would it be…”

Megan just stared at Lake as they pondered. So much like Tulip… but also so different…

Lake sat down and the chair creaked, but not enough to be a concern. They seemed to still be thinking about the train’s logic.

“You think a lot don’t you?” Megan asked.

“Finally,” Lake looked oddly relieved. “Somebody picked up on that. Everybody just assumes I’m constantly spaced out. No, I’m not spaced out, my mind’s just on other important things.”

Megan laughed. “You know, to a lot of people those two are the same thing.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Lake finally smiled.

“So what’s going on in that head of yours?” Megan asked.

“Like I said, it’s just weird being in the prime version of this house,” Lake rested their chin on their hands. “Tulip was thirteen when the train got her. So that was thirteen years of my life where I saw everything that got reflected with her, and that’s all. Thirteen years of my life of seeing you, and knowing you. But you never knew me. It’s a lot to adjust to all at once. Especially since I knew you better than I knew your reflection since I never did learn their personality. We just copied everything you and Tulip did.” Lake sighed. “I don’t know, it probably sounds crazy to you. But pretty much this whole trip all this has been on my mind. Seeing Tulip in person started this train of thought. Then seeing Andy just made it worse.”

That… was a lot for Megan to take in all at once. Even though Tulip had become more open about her thoughts and feelings she still wasn’t as open as Lake. 

“How did Andy make it worse?” Megan started with Lake’s most recent thought.

“The way he stared at me was different than the way anybody else does. Usually people are mesmerized by the existence of a metal person. But it just seemed like to him I’m just a metal version of Tulip. And in all honestly, it bothered me. That, combined with the inherent awkwardness of the whole reflection business just made it really stick in my mind.”

“Well, I almost can believe I’m saying this, in his defence. I reacted the same way when I first saw you. You just didn’t notice because it was over the internet. But after talking to you a few times, and hearing all of Tulip’s stories I got to know you a bit better. I’m sure the next time you see Andy things’ll be less awkward.”

“Yeah hopefully,” Lake processed the other part of what Megan said. “So Tulip talks about me?”

“All the time,” Megan replied. “She even shows me a lot of the pictures you and Jesse take. That boy likes his selfies.”

Lake chuckled. “I know right. He’s getting me more used to them.”

Megan smiled at Lake’s warm expression. What an odd situation to find yourself in, your daughter’s reflection being their own person sitting in your kitchen looking nothing like her. But, “You know, I’m glad Tulip let you out.”

“You are?” Lake blushed, and eventually fought back the tears pricking at the corners of their eyes. “Hearing that from you actually feels really good. Frankly, I’d be lying if I said I was worried my being missing inconveniences you guys. Since you know, I’ve been enjoying being me. But the thought has crossed my mind recently.”

“Just so you know, it’s not really an inconvenience, it just makes taking Tulip to the hairdresser a bit… odd.”

“I’ll bet,” Lake said with a laugh. They breathed in. “Thanks for talking to me. I feel better now.”

“You’re welcome,” Megan said.

Pretty much immediately after finishing their conversation Lake left the table and walked up to Tulip’s room. Taking in all the sights along the way. They felt less awkward in this house, but it was still odd to them.

When Lake stepped into Tulip’s room they looked around it. One of the first things they noticed was the mirror being replaced by more pictures. 

“Hey, are you feeling any better?” Tulip asked when she noticed Lake’s presence, Jesse also looked at Lake with concern.

“Yeah, I’m feeling better,” Lake replied. “I talked to your mom for a bit which helped.”

“I’m glad,” Tulip said, and Jesse nodded. “So, you ready to test out my game?”

“It’s really fun,” Jesse said as Lake walked up. He passed the controller over to them. “Would you like my chair?”

“I’m good, thanks,” Lake replied as they took the controller from Jesse.

“Okay, so you already know the first Good Guys Poppin’ Bad Guys, this is basically the same thing but a million times better,” Tulip always had radiated pride whenever she talked about her successful attempts at coding. “Just hit the start button when you’re ready to go.” 

So Lake did, and indeed the new version was a lot better Tulip had gotten all the ship upgrades working, and it _was_ really fun. Lake found themself quite engrossed and almost wished they were there to see Tulip make it.

Almost.

Lake made it three levels in before dying. The game wasn’t a bullet hell in any capacity but it was still tricky.

“It’s really good,” Lake handed the controller over to Tulip. “You have every right to be proud.”

“Thanks, that means a lot coming from you,” Tulip took the controller. “So are you still up for our idea to do a collab?”

“Of course, especially now that I saw how good your latest game is,” Lake got themself comfortable next to Tulip. “You can tell me everything I need to know right now. But also message it to me so I don’t forget.”

“Sure, no problem,” Tulip pulled up a word document. “I haven’t started programming it yet, but I did start jotting down a bunch of ideas. I know you like designing monsters.”

“Nightmares are good for that,” Lake said, their face and tone not telling if they were joking or not. 

“You know, for a therapy train it sure is good at giving people trauma,” Tulip said without thinking.

Lake and Jesse nodded. “Yep.”

The group mulled over Tulip’s ideas, her and Lake did most of the talking, occasionally getting input from Jesse who was really excited about everything. Which was nice, but not always helpful.

Before anybody realized it a good amount of time had passed. It only hit them when Megan announced that Mikayla had come over.

“Okay,” Tulip called out to her mom. She turned to Lake, “I’ll send you the Google Doc we were working on later. If I forget just message me on Discord.”

“Got it,” Lake replied and patted Tulip on the shoulder. “I’m looking forward to finishing this up with you.”

Tulip smiled. “Me too.”

When the kids caught up with her, Megan passed a cooler over to Tulip. “Can you carry this for me bud?”

“Sure thing mom.”

After Megan picked up a cold bag the group exited the house and stood outside the car for a bit while she loaded things into the trunk.

“Okay, so where’s everybody sitting?” Jesse asked. 

“Well I know where I have to go,” Lake replied. 

“I think I should ride up front,” Tulip said. “My mom still likes to keep an eye on me.”

Jesse laughed. “My parents are sometimes the same way. I kind of vanished twice in one month after all.”

“Train people…” Mikayla said with a head shake then she looked at Lake. “So why do you know where you’re sitting?”

“Oh, I tend to throw cars extremely off-kilter if I don’t sit in the middle seat, and it makes the driver nervous,” Lake replied. “Actually, why aren’t I in already? I’ll let you guys figure out everything else.”

Lake got into the car and did an excellent job of demonstrating what they meant. Megan cringed when she noticed how far it leaned. 

“My uncle’s a mechanic and beefed up the suspension of my family’s car,” Jesse said before getting into the seat next to Lake.

The other three also loaded into the car and after making sure everybody was buckled up Megan drove off.

* * *

The rest of the Cosay family was already settled in the park at a picnic table, some snacks they picked up at the grocery store were sitting on it. It didn’t take long for Megan’s group to catch up with them. Lake was grinning looking around at all the nature.

“Hello!” Whittney greeted everybody with a wave and Stephan also waved.

And they waved back.

As soon as Lake ran up Whittney held out her hand, and Lake gave her five. “Well somebody’s excited.”

“Of course. Look at this sunny sky, green grass, the trees, fresh air… and you were asking for my phone and glasses. Weren’t you?”

Whittney laughed. “I was.” Lake handed their belongings over. “Thank you. You can go play now.”

“Yeah! I’m climbing that tree and nobody’s stopping me!” Lake shouted as they ran off. But they did still have enough presence of mind to quickly greet Nate while passing him. 

“Remember, you can’t take Nate up with you,” Whittney called after Lake.

Jesse and Nate laughed. Jesse looked at the tree Lake chose. “Yeah that won’t take long.”

“Wow they’re just flying up that tree,” Mikyala said.

Megan also watched. “Huh. I’m guessing that’s why you’re holding their things.”

“Lake’s basically indestructible but the same can’t be said about their glasses,” Stephan said, then sighed. “This is their second pair in five months. I’m so glad they’re just from the drugstore.”

“Hm,” After putting down the cooler bag Tulip looked at how high Lake had climbed. “I guess that’s why Lake listed tree climbing as one of their hobbies.”

“So what should we do while waiting?” Jesse asked. 

Almost as if it was rehearsed Nate pulled out a Frisbee. “I mean, Lake will be back soon. But we can start without them.”

“I’m good with that,” Jesse agreed with Nate’s decision. He held up his hand to block out the sun while looking at Lake’s progress. “They really are climbing fast. Wow. This might be a gazing tree.”

“Gazing tree?” Tulip asked.

“Lake likes to gaze out into the distance sometimes,” Jesse replied. “Just take in all the sights off the train and breathe in how real it all is. You know?”

Tulip nodded. “Yeah, I get it. I’ve spent a few afternoons just lying in a field staring at the sky.”

“Same,” Jesse said. “Usually with Lake. But sometimes even on my own. I never really appreciated it all before.”

“The real sky moves differently than the train sky,” Tulip added on to Jesse’s thoughts.

“Yeah.”

“Hey, you guys can run off, we’ll get everything all sorted out here,” Stephan said. 

Stephan didn’t have to ask Jesse and Nate twice. “Okay thanks! See you in a bit!”

Tulip and Mikayla followed the brothers as they swiftly walked into the middle of the field.

“So we’ll start off by just tossing around the Frisbee all casual-like,” Jesse enthusiastically went over his plans for the afternoon. “Lake would not be happy if we started an actual game without them.”

So it was agreed, after Tulip and Mikayla had their proper introductions to Nate the group casually threw around the frisbee. About ten minutes in, Lake started to climb down the tree. Jesse noticed they were climbing a lot slower than they normally would.

And when Lake walked up to everyone Jesse saw that they looked troubled. 

“Hi Lake!” Nate enthusiastically greeted them. 

“Hey bud,” Lake returned his greeting with a smile.

“Good of you to join us,” Mikayla said.

“You up for some frisbee?” Tulip asked. She too noticed something was off, Lake’s expression was all-too familiar. 

“Yeah, sure,” Lake replied, their spirits appeared to be up. Lake took a place next to Jesse.

Nate was the last one to hold the disc after their previous game and tossed it to Lake who caught it without any issues. They threw it to Tulip who tossed it to Mikayla, and then she threw it to Jesse. They continued like this for a little while. But it quickly became clear to the Cosay boys that Lake wasn’t feeling it.

“I think I’m in the mood for something new,” Nate said after exchanging glances with Jesse. Lake’s competitive nature was well-known. “Such as…”

Nate ran up to Lake and patted them on the arm. “Tag!”

“Heh,” this woke up a fire in Lake, they immediately turned to Jesse. “You get a head start.”

He took it, but Lake quickly started to catch up. “I’m a swimmer, not a runner!”

“What! You need strong legs for swimming too!” Lake closed the gap but it was a fakeout! Lake pivoted on one foot and made a beeline to Mikayla catching her off-guard.

Jesse and Lake quickly high-fived while laughing.

“You’re such cheaters,” Mikayla called them out before going after Jesse. “I thought it was just twins that had that weird ESP thing!”

“When you’ve had as many near-death experiences together as we did, you get it too,” Jesse said, still not actually out of breath. But he went at a slower pace than he had before. Lake constantly went beyond fleshy-limits without even a thought.

Eventually Mikayla did catch up to Jesse and he was going to go after Tulip but noticed she was having a conversation with Lake. It looked serious, too. So instead Jesse tagged Nate.

“Let those two finish talking first though,” he whispered to his brother. 

The three people not engrossed in a conversation kept themselves busy and Nate happened to be the one that’s it when Tulip and Lake finished. He went after Lake first who went at a much slower pace compared to how they run for anybody else. They had a large soft spot for the kid.

Things looped back around to Tulip and after a good amount of playing everybody was called over for lunch. Lake walked hand-in-hand with Jesse to the table. Andy had shown up by this point and brought sandwiches.

He and Lake exchanged quiet and awkward greetings.

“Hey thanks for showing up and bringing stuff,” Jesse said, still trying to figure out how to make things less… weird between his friend and the guy they don’t know how to really classify. 

“Yeah, thanks,” Lake said while inching closer to Jesse. 

Everybody dispersed around the picnic table grabbing whatever food appealed to them. Lake and Jesse stuck together because Lake sometimes had questions about food.

Lake took a bite into a sandwich and turned to Jesse. “What kind of meat is this? It _is_ meat, right?”

“Uuhhh…” Jesse picked up one of the same sandwich and took a bite of his own. “It’s bologna, and sure, it’s meat.”

“Hm, well, it tastes fine. So who cares.”

Lake walked over to the cookies and grabbed one. “Well I definitely know what these are.”

The cookie did not last long sending Jesse into a laughing fit.

“So, not judging you,” Jesse said after calming down. “You’re actually supposed to put your food on a plate and then walk away from the table. And it’ll make it easier to hang out and chat.”

Lake blushed. “You should’ve told me that sooner.”

“I just wanted to see what you’d do,” Jesse said with a shrug. “You know dad thinks learning through mistakes is good. At least I told you eventually.”

“I guess,” Lake muttered before they grabbed a plate.

Them and Jesse loaded up their plates and sat with the other kids who were already talking. Nate was getting properly acquainted with Tulip and Mikayla. 

“Lake told me you’re making games,” Nate said. “Sounds cool.”

“It is,” Tulip felt like bragging a little. “I’ve made three games already, and I’m working on a new one with Lake. They’re really fun. If I do say so myself.”

“And you do,” Mikayla said with a smirk.

“What I’m confident.”

“Yep, and that’s what I like about you.”

“So Mikayla, maybe Nate already asked you these things, but I wasn’t here for that,” Jesse started. Tulip knew where this was going. “Two questions, what are your hobbies, and favourite foods?”

“I just kinda do anything, I don’t have any real hobbies right now,” Mikayla replied. “I’m sort of down for whatever I feel like that week. And favourite food. Definitely cake. All cake, you can’t go wrong with that. How about you?”

While Mikyala and Jesse were better getting to know each other Lake noticed Tulip watching her parents.

“I wouldn’t worry too much about it if I were you,” Lake said as they crunched into a piece of broccoli. 

“But they’ve been doing so well, I thought they could handle an afternoon together,” Tulip said, disappointment clear in her voice.

“They’re arguing about me.”

“What?”

“Yeah, your mom gets that I’m my own person, and not just you but metal. However, your dad hasn’t gotten that yet. You’d think the buzzcut and clothes would be a dead giveaway. But apparently not.”

“That’s so stupid. He quickly got used to me not showing up in mirrors, and I told him all about you.”

“Heh,” Lake stifled a laugh. “Your mom actually just said the same thing. Oh, neat.” Lake smiled. “Megan actually recognized my nonbinary pride bracelet. Andy messed up my pronouns and she pointed it out to him.”

“Huh,” then it finally hit Tulip. “Wait. You can read lips?”

“It’s not an exact science but yeah, I get by. Just part of being a reflection.”

Once the arguing stopped Andy looked over a Lake while scratching the back of his head. He seemed to finally be getting things somewhat.

Now that they were done their food Lake decided to have a little lie-down and watched the clouds move. It didn’t take long for Lake to start to drift off.

“Uuhhh,” Mikayla looked at Lake. “Everything alright with them?”

“Hm? Yeah, that’s normal,” Jesse had gotten so used to Lake’s sleeping habits. “When you’re on the run from murderous cops you kinda get in the habit of sleeping whenever you can. Even I just fall asleep sometimes.”

“What’s this about murderous cops?”

Megan _had_ walked over to the kids to make sure they were done eating so the food could be put away.

“Oh uh,” Jesse wasn’t sure just how much Lake had told everyone. “Yeah, when a reflection decides to live their own life they get the death penalty. So for a while a couple cops were chasing Lake down trying to sand them to death. It was pretty terrifying.”

“Sooo...” Megan stared at Lake. “Is everything okay now? Should I be worried?”

“Nah,” Jesse waved his hand dismissively. “Lake took care of it.”

“That sounds kind of mob-y,” Tulip pointed out. “You know,” she did air quotes, “took care of it.”

“Um,” eyes were on Jesse, he really wished Lake was awake. “Well, your mind going there isn’t _super_ wrong. It was a big mess and-”

“-ow.” Jesse got a hard metal flick to the forehead.

“I fall asleep for five minutes and you make me sound like a mobster,” Lake grumped at him. “I can’t take you anywhere.”

Jesse slumped. “Sorry.”

Lake groaned and rubbed their head. “I felt everybody staring at me and woke up.”

“And well...” Megan tried to figure out how to ask Lake the now obvious. 

“Look, it was in self-defence,” Lake had been here before. “Mace got cut in half and we were stranded in a wasteland. When I was climbing back onto the train he tried dragging me into the wheels. It was either he die, or we both die. So I shoved him into the wheels to save myself.”

“Oh. My gosh,” Megan’s reaction was the usual.

Tulip’s jaw dropped. “WHAT. Lake, I,” she gathered herself. “What?” Or at least attempted to. “You having to do that is seriously messed up. What is with that train?”

“You killed a dude,” Mikayla stated the obvious. “That’s... huh. Wow. I couldn’t even begin to imagine...”

“It’s like you said earlier Tulip, the train’s good at giving people trauma,” Lake said with some attempted humour. “It fixes the issue you came on with but,” Lake looked very tired, “it gives you some new ones as a going away present.”

Lake felt awkward. “Oh! But I’m doing better than I was. You know, I’m in therapy, getting some help... You know. It’s fine. I’ll be fine. Just as long as I don’t go to jail.”

“Yeah,” Jesse bolstered Lake’s mood. “They’re doing a lot better now. Having to, you know, with Mace was really awful. But things for Lake have been getting better and I’m proud of them.”

“Aaw,” Lake leaned on Jesse. “Thanks. And I’m proud of you too. I actually like your new friends.”

Jesse laughed. “So, part of my problem the train picked me up for was being a _really intense_ people pleaser. I just wanted to be friends with everyone and ended up making some terrible friends.” Jesse placed his hand on Nate’s shoulder. “And because of that Nate got hurt. That’s when the train came for me. I felt so awful for that.”

“I’m with Lake,” Nate said. “I like your new friends. And it’s great you kicked Troy to the curb. He’s a real jerk.”

“So yeah, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to tell anybody outside of Jesse’s family- my family, but it was kind of a weight on my shoulders,” Lake took a breath and braced themself people to fully process that they killed a man.

But the fallout never happened. Megan still had no real idea of what to do or say.

“You know,” Tulip sighed. “I haven’t been completely honest with you either. I left out some details too. It’s so dumb.” Tulip took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. “You remember Atticus and how Amelia tore apart the ball pit car. When she was in there she turned Atticus into a roach-dog.”

“Oh no, not Atticus!” Lake exclaimed. “So, is he…?”

“Nope,” Tulip knew where Lake’s mind went. “And that’s why me being so upset about it is dumb. The Cat showed me how to turn Atticus back and I did that. So he’s back to being a corgi king.” 

“That’s good,” Lake’s expression softened. “I never really got to know Atticus himself but he’s a good boy.”

Tulip laughed. “He prefers to be called a good man.”

“I should have known, he is a king,” Lake softly chuckled, then they turned serious. “But still. Atticus got turned into a monster and you saw that. It’s still awful and I can’t blame you for being messed up by it.”

Tulip teared up and wiped it away. “Thanks. I actually needed to hear that more than I thought. I… held him in my arms right before he turned…”

Lake pulled Tulip into a hug and got a tight squeeze back helping to make each other feel better about their terrible experiences on the train. 

“I’m glad we met,” Tulip said.

“I’m glad I reached out to you. Thank you for helping me.”

“Yeah, of course.”

The two separated and looked at each other, Lake was tearing up, and wiped their eye.

“You okay?” Tulip asked. 

“Yeah, I’m okay,” Lake snickered. “Unlike you I actually show my emotions.”

“What- RUDE,” Tulip puffed out her cheeks. “You don’t have to call me out like that.”

Tulip playfully smacked Lake on the shoulder as they laughed.

With the tension pretty much all gone Megan collected the plates so the food could be put away. She lingered at Lake, still not entirely sure what to say. Their eyes met and Lake could see the sadness.

Lake hoped they managed to convey that it’s all okay before Megan returned to the adults. 

But then there was Mikayla who was still looking a little stunned. Tulip held her hand and tried to assure her that everything’s fine. After a while Mikayla calmed down a bit.

“So that’s what you meant yesterday,” Mikayla finally managed to utter another sentence, she looked over at Lake. “Don’t worry, I’m not judging you. And I know you’re not crazy.”

“She was like that when I told her about the train,” Tulip said.

“That train’s so messed up,” Mikayla said. 

“Hey! So,” Jesse really wanted to move on. “What are you guys planning on doing for the rest of your vacation?”

“Well, I’ll be working on that game me and Lake talked about earlier,” Tulip replied. “And hanging out with Mikayla of course. I don’t really know any specifics yet.”

“Cool,” Jesse said with a nod. “Sounds fun. I’ll pretty much just be hanging out with my friends, doing my homework, trying to learn sculpting from my mom with Lake.”

“You haven’t finished your homework?” Mikayla’s finally snapped out of it. “You procrastinator.”

“I have a system,” Jesse defended himself. 

Lake snorted. “It’s called rushing at the end like your ass is on fire. I did all my homework fyi.”

“It’s been working so far,” Jesse said.

Mikayla looked between Lake and Jesse. “I would’ve thought you two would be the opposite. Jesse’s got a real himbo energy to him but he’s so eager to please, and Lake, well…”

“Tulip has always had good study habits,” no part of Lake was insulted, “just because I didn’t like my life with her that doesn’t mean I’m about to throw useful skills in the trash.”

“And yet both your Tumblr blogs use a completely default theme,” Tulip said.

“Nobody even goes on people’s blogs anyway,” oddly, _that_ insulted Lake. “Well, except for if you post a Read More I guess.”

“But you have an art blog, you should at least make that one look nice.”

“At least mine’s functional. You have no idea how many sparkle-hells I’ve seen where I can’t read anything or find the navigation buttons.”

“Okay, I’ll give you that,” Tulip conceded. “It’s not a pastel nightmare, or heavy metal band font either.”

“I haven’t seen that second one yet and I’m beyond glad.”

“It was awful, I left instantly, my eyes couldn’t take it. It was red on black too.”

“Noooo,” Lake fell backwards in a show of Jesse-like dramatics. “That’s the worst! Never do red on black! Especially with a bad font.”

Tulip laughed. “You feel so strongly about this.”

“Graphic design is my passion,” Lake said.

“You better make that your header on your art blog.”

“Oh screw you Tulip,” Lake shook with laughter.

With the awkward air now completely gone Mikayla asked Nate what he was doing for summer vacation.

“Well,” Nate hummed in thought. “Jesse and Lake promised to take me to the county fair, then after that I’ll play with my friends, and play some video games, and finish my homework.”

“Wait finish?” Jesse asked.

“Yeah, Lake’s been helping me out over the summer,” Nate replied. 

Lake gave Jesse a piece sign and stuck out their tongue. “I’m at least showing Nate some good school fundamentals. I don’t want him to be doomed like his big brother.”

“Gee thanks,” Jesse flopped down next to Lake with his arms crossed and a pout.

“Aaw,” Lake gently knocked their knuckles on Jesse’s shoulder. “You’re not doomed. Yet.”

“Thanks for the boat of confidence buddy,” Jesse said in good humour.

“Don’t mention it friend,” Lake said with a smirk.

Now that everything was finally all laid out in the open conversation came more naturally to everyone. They lost track of time talking underneath a shady tree.

Before they knew it the Cosay parents were calling everybody over to start a nice game with the family.

Lake and Jesse were the last two to get up.

Jesse took a look at the same sky Lake had fallen asleep under. “It is really nice here.”

“Yeah,” Lake said softly then leaned up against Jesse. “But I like your hometown better.”

“You do?”

“Of course, you live there.”

“D’aawww,” Jesse hugged Lake. “You softie. But, how are you feeling? You seem kind of off.”

“Well, when I looked out over town from the top of that tree I just felt weird. I don’t know how to put it into words. It’s this strange feeling in my chest; I’ve never had it before.”

“Once you figure it out, and if you do want to talk about it, I’m here for you.”

“Thanks.”

Jesse and Lake caught up to everybody in the field and they automatically stood next to each other as team captains as they always did while playing games with their friends.

“Oh wait,” Jesse shifted on his feet. “Is it cool if we’re captains? We just kinda do this a lot.”

Everybody agreed to that decision.

“Okay, so a lot of this is obvious,” Jesse started things off. “You know, you have to get the frisbee to the end goal to get points, this is non-contact, self-regulated, so if you break a rule you call yourself out on it. And it’s all in good fun.”

“When you have the disc you can’t run with it, you can pivot, but not run,” Lake continued the explanation. “When you catch the disc you get three steps to slow down and that’s it.”

“But we’re not going to be too picky about that,” Jesse smiled.

“There’s multiple types of throws you can do,” Lake counted them on their fingers. “Simple forehand and backhand throws with variants which have different trajectories. There’s also techniques where you the frisbee is held upside-down, there’s also vertical throws, The Hammer is my personal favourite.”

“But that is all pretty advanced,” Jesse said to Lake. “This isn’t a game with my jock-friends, it’ll be more like one with my… less athletic friends.”

“But I can still do all that, right?”

“I mean,” Jesse gave it some thought. “Sure. Yeah, it should be fine. Just keep in mind that half the players are first-timers.”

“Alright.”

The two of them finished explaining all the rules. The Olsens and Mikayla had no idea just how many of them there were for Ultimate. Then it was time to divide up the teams.

Jesse and Lake huddled.

“So how are we picking?” Jesse asked. “You know I don’t like schoolyard picks somebody always feels left out.”

“We can just discuss it and try to keep things even.”

“Sure.”

“I don’t really want to be with Andy things are too weird between us.”

That didn’t surprise Jesse. “Sure I’ll take him and you get Megan. I feel like she wouldn’t work well with him.”

“What gave that away?” Sarcasm dripped off of Lake’s voice. “Tulip and Mikayla would probably make a good team. They’re pretty in-synch.”

“Ah but then one of us would get both our parents and that wouldn’t be fair. It might also make Tulip feel singled out.”

“Good point. So who gets which parent?”

“You have Megan so you take dad, and I’ll have mom.”

“Since we’re splitting them up, can I have Mikayla? I want to go up against Tulip.”

Jesse chuckled. “Of course you do. Yeah that’s fine. So now we have Nate left. Rock paper scissors for him?”

“Of course.”

The huddle broke up and Lake and Jesse started playing for who gets Nate.

“Oh no,” Stephan groaned. “I’ve never seen them not tie. They’re too close.”

“There’s usually a winner,” Whittney said while watching five ties happen. “…Eventually.”

Three more ties happened, Stephan sighed. “They’re both too darn stubborn. They should really just flip a coin.”

The group watched as tie after tie occurred. 

“YES!”

Eventually Lake cheered.

“I get Nate!” They shouted.

“Ah darn it,” Jesse put his hand on his hip with a groan. “I wanted Nate this time.”

Lake called Nate and the rest of their team over to their side of the field, and Jesse did the same with his team.

But before they started Stephan called Lake over with a wag of his finger. They walked up to him rubbing the back of their head.

“What is it?” Lake asked.

Stephan gazed at Lake gently. “I just noticed that you’re really clinging to Jesse. It reminded me of when you first came into our lives and I wanted to ask how you’re feeling.”

“I’m not completely sure,” Lake’s eyes fell to the grass. “It’s a weird new feeling.”

“Are you homesick?” Stephan asked.

“Maybe,” Lake glanced up. “I’ve never felt that way before so I don’t actually know.”

Stephan knelt down slightly to make better eye-contact with Lake. “You know, I’m feeling a little homesick myself.”

“You are?”

“Yep.”

And that’s all it took to get a hug from Lake.

“I am missing home,” they said into Stephan’s shoulder, the pieces had finally fallen into place. 

“Okay, we’ll leave tomorrow morning.”

Lake squeezed Stephan tighter and he did the same to them. They stayed like that for a little bit before separating with Lake rubbing their eyes.

“It’s times like this I wish I could pick you up,” Stephan said.

“I’m too old for that.”

Stephan laughed and patted Lake on the shoulder. “Yeah I suppose you are. But you’re just so cute.”

“Nooo, I’m not cute,” Lake protested half-heartedly. 

Warmth filled the air when Stephan laughed. “Alright. If you say so.”

After one final pat to Lake’s back them and Stephan went into their positions on the makeshift field. A bunch of objects were just tossed down approximately where the lines should be. It was up to the players to call their own penalties for going out of bounds.

This time Stephan pulled out a coin so Lake and Jesse didn’t wind up in another rock paper scissors stalemate. Jesse won the toss and he ran out to the end goal to do the first pull, a throw to the opposing team.

Everybody dispersed into the field with barely any strategy. Nate made the first catch and Lake shouted encouragement to him.

Lake was pretty covered by Tulip but Mikayla was open so he passed to her, she barely caught the disc then threw it towards Stephan who was waiting at the end goal.

“Sorry dad,” Jesse called as he intercepted the throw, he looked down the field to see who on his team was open. He knew Lake was more than able to run fast enough to intercept a throw to Whittney or Tulip, so Jesse picked Andy and called out his name. Mikayla noticed and managed to catch the frisbee despite how high Jesse’s throw went. 

She didn’t have much faith in how high a metal person could jump so Lake was out of the question, they were being defended by Jesse. But Megan was the only other person who was open, although Mikayla knew she had just finished a long shift and was exhausted. 

So Mikayla took a gamble on Lake. Everybody else was too far away for the disc to reach. Lake’s eye were sharp and they took full advantage of their size and expertly swerved past Jesse to keep him from intercepting the pass.

Lake smirked at Jesse as he had to back off as per the rules.

They surveyed the field and noticed that Andy seemed at a loss and Nate was behind him, the speedy little guy. A perfect target. He wasn’t even particularly far away. 

“Uh-oh Andy!” Jesse noticed, and called out to him. “Lake smells weakness!”

Pretty much the second those words left Jesse mouth, Lake made their toss. It didn’t actually come close to hitting Andy, but it was enough to scare him into falling over giving Nate more than enough of a chance to grab the disc and start booking it to the end goal.

While running towards the goal themself, Lake stopped next to Andy and felt slightly bad for him. So they offered him their hand.

“We joke around a lot but I would never intentionally hurt somebody I like.”

“Somebody you like?” Andy repeated as he took Lake’s hand.

“You’re a good dad to Tulip so I like you,” Lake said as if it was the simplest thing. And it kind of was. 

“Huh,” this was an eye-opener for Andy. “Uh, thank you. Lake.”

After getting back on his feet Andy took off his hat and rubbed his rapidly balding head. “I’m sorry. I’ve been a kind of a jerk.”

“It’s okay,” Lake gave Andy a firm clap on the back, the hardness of their hand catching him by surprise. “It’s a really weird situation. This...” Lake gestured to themself then to Tulip, “...has never happened before. We’re all confused.”

“Yeah,” Andy looked down at Lake, their style leaned more towards looking tough but they were just as tiny as his daughter. “But I do still feel bad for taking such a long time to really get that you’re a different person from Tulip.”

Lake shrugged. “Water under the bridge. You got it eventually, that counts for something.”

Andy sat down on the ground and Lake looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

“I’m not helping you up again,” they said. 

Andy laughed. “You’re a bit harsh.” He looked out over the field. “How do Jesse’s parents still have that much energy?”

“We’re an athletic family,” Lake said with the gentlest expression Andy had ever seen them with.

One particular word stood out to Andy. “Have they adopted you?”

“Not officially,” Lake put their hands behind their head. “But they might as well have. I imagine adopting somebody who barely even exists as far as the government is concerned would be difficult. Which is fine, I don’t need a piece of paper saying they’re my parents.”

“I guess that’s true,” Andy started to feel awkward again, he rarely just sat and talked to Tulip’s friends. “Hey, why don’t you go back out into the field? I think I’m going to tap out.”

“Drat,” Lake frowned. “That means I’ll have to give up Nate.”

“You two actually wanted him on your teams?”

“Of course!” Lake pointed Nate out as he scored a point. “Look at him go! He’s really good.”

“Well, sorry to break it to you. But I can’t run anymore.” Andy got up. “Pass that on to Jesse. And... nice talking to you.”

“Yeah, sure,” Lake waved at Andy before he walked off.

“Hey Jesse!” Lake shouted as they walked out into the field. “We need a timeout for a sec!”

Jesse paused the game. “We do?”

“Yeah Andy stepped out,” Lake replied. “So now Nate’s on your team, congrats.”

“Actually,” Megan spoke up. “I think I’ll stop too. I’m pretty tired. It was fun.”

“So I guess I do get to keep Nate,” Lake said with a devious expression. 

“Lucky,” Jesse said, playfully bitter sounding.

After Megan walked away Jesse called the game back into play. It continued for a good while, points were scored by both teams. Everybody ran around energetically, including the remaining adults. Eventually they tapped out, then Tulip who was never particularly athletic. 

After looking around the pretty empty field Jesse decided that it was a good time to wrap up. “Ultimate” wasn’t exactly fun with so few people. 

“So who won?” Tulip asked.

Lake and Jesse looked at each other thinking.

“You didn’t keep track, did you?” Lake spoke first.

“You didn’t!” Jesse was second.

Nate rose his hand. “I did! It was a tie.”

Lake groaned. “A tie?” With a sigh they quickly got over it, though they really wanted to have a winner, but with so few people it wasn’t possible. 

“Well, too bad about the tie but I think we know exactly who our MVP is,” Jesse said.

Everybody knew who he meant, except for the MVP himself.

“It’s Nate,” Jesse announced. “He got most of your points and he was smart enough to keep score too.”

To celebrate Jesse picked Nate up and put him on his shoulders, and then Lake did the same with Jesse. Lake ran around, and all three were smiling.

The adults at the table were having a conversation which Whittney turned away from to check on her kids.

“Wait, hey! Is that Nate at the top?” Whittney shouted.

Lake and Jesse exchanged a look and simultaneously answered her question.

“Yes.”

“Don’t worry, these two aren’t even close to being too heavy for me to carry,” Lake shouted back towards the table.

“It’s not you I’m worried about,” Whittney loudly said.

“ _Ha-ha_ , you worry mom,” Lake said in a taunting way to Jesse. 

He shot Lake a dirty look, and then shouted to Whittney. “It’s okay, I have a tight grip! I promise I won’t drop him.”

Whittney didn’t seem completely convinced but it looked like Jesse did indeed have a tight grip on Nate, and Nate was holding onto him. She sighed. “Okay fine! You can keep doing… that.”

And so they did, followed by Tulip and Mikayla who were both clapping and cheering.

“Those three look like a handful,” Megan chuckled. 

“It’s mostly Lake and Jesse if I’m being honest,” Whittney said.

“Seems like it.”

After a loop around the makeshift playing field Lake let Jesse down, and he did the same with Nate. None of them fell, which was a first.

Feeling mostly drained of their energy all the kids sat back down and talked more about summer, what they did, what their plans were for the upcoming school year, and eventually it turned into a conversation about all the shows they’ve been binging.

* * *

The sun had started to set, it ended up being a full day of hanging out in the park and the families needed to go back while there was still some light.

“I actually should head off right away,” Andy said. “I’m honestly a little bit night blind.”

Tulip gave her dad a hug then he said a general goodbye to everyone and got into his car and drove away.

“Thanks for the game,” Mikayla said with a wave. “I’ve never played Ultimate before, it was a blast.”

“Yeah it was, you guys did great,” Jesse grinned. “Now how about we all hug it out? And one last picture of course.”

The kids got together for their hug before Jesse pulled out his phone. They all posed for the selfie. With a click, the picture was taken. A couple more were also taken just for fun, and Jesse posted the ones the group approved on his Twitter and Instagram with the caption, “Had a great visit to Minnesota, hung out with some new friends.” and he made sure to tag Tulip and Lake on Twitter, it wasn’t Mikayla’s thing, but she was on Instagram so he tagged her on there, but not Lake because they hated Instagram.

After one final goodbye for the night everybody went into their respective cars and headed back.

“You and Andy sure talked,” Jesse said after he buckled his seatbelt.

“Yeah, he finally gets that I’m my own person which is nice,” Lake buckled up their own seatbelt. “He’s a good guy.”

“I’m glad you two figured things out.”

“I was worried about how Megan felt about me after finding out about Mace, but before we left she assured me that the only thing that changed was her idea of how tough things have been for me. Which is a relief.”

“Oh yeah, you two did talk this morning, didn’t you?”

“She said she was glad Tulip freed me.” Lake held Jesse’s hand and sighed. “Which felt really nice. I didn’t actually need her approval of it, but it was good to hear.”

“Must’ve been.”

The conversation quickly turned into a much more light-hearted one and included Nate in it for the rest of the car ride. After getting to the Air BnB everybody relaxed in the living room for a bit before getting ready for their last night in Minnesota. 

* * *

Before heading home to Arizona Lake and Jesse arranged to quickly meet up with Tulip as she was waiting in front of the museum, she was going to spend time with her science club friends.

There wasn’t much left to be said, but it felt appropriate to do so. The trip was mainly to see her, after all.

“It was cool hanging out with you,” Lake said. “And I’ll start working on the art for our game when I get home.”

“It’s no rush,” Tulip said. 

“Oh I’m not rushing,” Lake said, brimming with confidence. “I have a lot of ideas I need to get on paper.”

“Lake actually did a few sketches this morning,” Jesse blurted out.

“Aw, I didn’t want you to tell her that,” Lake grumbled. “They’re not ready to be shown off, they’re just a really rough idea.”

Tulip smiled. “Well, I’m looking forward to seeing them whenever you’re ready.”

“It really was good to see you, thanks for spending all three days with us,” Lake said bashfully. 

“Whaaat? You don’t have to thank me for that, you’re totally cool,” Tulip clapped her hand on Lake’s shoulder. “And Jesse’s fun. When you told me you were planning on coming I was excited to see you in person again.”

“What, you don’t think I’m cool?” Jesse pretended to be upset. “Well. I may not be cool, but at least I’m the fun one.”

Lake tried to flick Jesse on the forehead but he stood up straight and avoided it. They tried again but still couldn’t reach.

“Darn you and your stupid growth-spurt.”

Tulip laughed at the scene.

“You know Tulip,” Lake gave up. “I was actually kinda relieved when I saw you didn’t grow either.”

“Ex-cuse me,” Tulip put her hand to her chest. “For your information I have grown an entire inch.”

Jesse snickered. “So Tulip’s actually five feet tall and doesn’t need to round up.”

“Oh whatever,” Lake crossed their arms looking grumpy. “It’s just an inch.”

A group of people entered the corner of Lake’s eye. They recognized a couple of these people from when they were still Tulip’s reflection. Not feeling like meeting a ton of new people in that particular moment Lake decided that it was time to leave. 

“So we should get going,” Lake said awkwardly. “Talk to you later.”

“Alright, bye,” Tulip said.

Jesse was the first one to offer a hug, as he often was, he and Tulip said goodbye. And then it was Lake’s turn.

“It seriously was great to see you’re doing so well,” Tulip said during the hug.

“Same to you,” Lake said. “You’re so much happier now. I’m glad.”

After the hugs, everybody waved and Lake and Jesse got into the car. As they were getting in Lake could hear one of Tulip’s friends asking about them.

And now it was time to take a long car ride home with brand new memories to cherish.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is the end of this fanfic! I thank all my readers for sticking with it! :D I appreciate all of you! <3
> 
> P.S. I never want to write a game of Ultimate Frisbee again. But I am glad I did it this time.

**Author's Note:**

> Alright! I'm very excited about this project. It honestly was originally going to be a oneshot but I wrote that last part and I just had to split it into chapters after that. It was way too good of a chapter ending not to.
> 
> When I post the next chapter I'll add in the shippy tag. I just didn't want people clicking on this now and being disappointed that Mikayla was a no-show.
> 
> EDIT: I know people sometimes hide notes. I found out I got Tulip's home State wrong! So I did a couple little edits. In hindsight, her mom's accent makes more sense now. But maaan.


End file.
